I think one of the issues with getting degrees in game development is simply trying to avoid schools that are set up to scam you. Since it's a growing field in the educational systems across the world, there's a lot of programs that pop up in schools because they want to offer what's selling, unfortunately even if they don't have a clue what they're doing.
I was lucky, the school I went to was still really figuring it out too, but what they did offer me was a chance to work with other people and learn everything the hard way with them, while having the pressures of deadlines and such. Of course, my experience getting my degree could have been a lot more fruitful - and I'll agree that most of the technical knowledge I gained was through Google - but the raw game design knowledge and theoretics of game development hit me pretty hard while I was there.
So to answer the original question, yes, I feel getting my degree helped me become a better designer. Could I have learned it all without going to school? Sure, but it would have taken a lot longer. That and I wouldn't have made connections and built my team (Affinity Archives) unless I had gone. At the end of the day was it about having the degree? Not even a little, (I never really "tried" to get a jobs, I always wanted to start my own studio) but it was worth it in the long run I feel, despite the student loans that weigh me down.
-CWeiss